Saturday, June 9, 2012

The Front Runner

The Front Runner train runs up and down the Wasatch Front. Front runner is a commuter train. Currently it runs from Salt Lake City to Ogden, but soon the route from Salt Lake City to Provo will open.

The train moves swiftly from station to station and doesn’t stop at every town. I took the train from the Woodscross station, and we passed the Farmington station, and the Layton station, and the Clearfield station, and the Roy station, and finally arrived that the Ogden station.

The cars are comfortable and quiet. The views are spectacular. I especially love riding on the upper level. To the west you see quiet communities and a vast vista. Beautiful wetlands stretch on forever and Antelope Island looms in the distance in the Great Salt Lake. On the other side of the train to the east, the famous Rocky Mountains, the section we call the Wasatch Front, tower high in the sky. The mountains are snowcapped well into June.

At the Ogden station there are museums and train yard with historic trains and related sights to see. The Ogden depot is fun to see and has lots of local history.

The Front Runner train began service in 2008. At the time service began, the train ran from Salt Lake City to Ogden. That’s the way things still are. Work has continued since 2008 to finish the second section that will run from Salt Lake City to Provo. As of 2012, the work is almost finished. A new station will be added at North Temple Street in Salt Lake City that will connect passengers with the Trax trains, specifically the line that goes to Salt Lake City International airport.